Happy objects, Sad objects

Date Added:
[June 8, 2012]
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How can it be that we find a human emotion with an object? Is this an energy inherent in the being of the object, or is it always going to be something we bring to it, that we place onto it? It is impossible to say, impossible to know, impossible to even compare the subjective feelings we feel of these objects. Is feeling knowledge? Is thought knowledge? How do you make sense of your senses?

This is a conversation that took place between Gary Simmonds and other participants (names not noted). It started at 5:00pm on 23rd March 2012, and is still going.

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Object abuse asks the question:
who or what is being abused?

Object Abuse has been set up to provide a platform for people to discuss, provoke and question the very nature and orientation of objects. The aim is to readdress the unquestioned drives of our collective pursuits, to turn the tables on the object-subject dynamic.

This investigation’s relevance is reflected in recent developments in philosophy, shifts in our socio-cultural landscape and is finding expression in the visual arts. This questioning of our human-centric perspective is reflected through current ideas found in the works of Bruno Latour, Graham Harman, Quentin Meillassoux, Anselm Franke and others.

The question: what exactly is object abuse is by no means obvious, when you think about it, who is to say the object in question is passive and not active? Also it is worth asking where does the form of abuse originate from? What qualifies abuse, is it quantifiable, can we identify subtler variations? And for that matter; what is an object, or rather can we say what is not an object…with any real certainty?

OA‘s function is to invite a multidisciplinary engagement; to be a forum, a curatorial framework and an archival space.

We welcome expressions of interest and contributions to the ongoing debate.